


Why Does Fate Make Us Suffer

by twilightstarr



Series: Broken Birds [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Canon-Typical Violence, Coercion, Gen, Missing Scene, Spoilers, chapter 3-2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 17:55:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18197456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twilightstarr/pseuds/twilightstarr
Summary: There is only one way this can end, even though Tibarn keeps inadvertently making it more difficult.





	Why Does Fate Make Us Suffer

**Author's Note:**

> Originally "Secrets", but there are about a thousand "Secrets" on this site, so instead I took a favorite line from What Have You Done by Within Temptation, which I have been listening to a lot while writing this.

“You're full of surprises, Naesala. I never expected you to join the Laguz Alliance. I wish you could be this helpful all the time,” Tibarn teased. Joining the alliance, it seemed, had significantly raised his regard for Naesala. He’d initiated a few other pleasant conversations before this one and cared enough about his thoughts on decisions to prompt them. Naesala was politely playing along without being too inviting or allowing himself to actually care that Tibarn was smiling at him now, because that, of course, would just make the inevitable more painful. 

So why did he feel like he couldn’t bear one more of Tibarn’s efforts to be friendly? 

“Tibarn, just stop. I’m not interested in your friendship.” 

Unfortunately, Tibarn wasn’t the type to give up that easily. “The hawk tribe and the raven tribe used to live together in Phoenicis.” Yes, Naesala knew that. “Our tribes were like kin! Maybe if you fess up about some of your secrets, I might consider helping you out in the future.”

Secrets. His heart thudded at the word. “That doesn’t really narrow it down, Tibarn. Which secrets are you talking about?” Hopefully he didn't sound too nervous. 

“How about the secret of how you suddenly became first in line to succeed the throne of Kilvas?” 

“Oh, _that_ secret. Sure, no problem…” Except, wait, that secret also involved the blood pact. “I'll tell you if we live through this war. Sound all right to you?” 

“Sounds fine to me. You know, this war is going to be vicious, but at least our tribes will grow close again.” He gave a confident smile that made Naesala’s insides twist in guilt. 

“Do you actually trust me? You might live to regret it.” Why did he say something stupid like that? Damn Tibarn and his contagious aura of comradery, and himself for getting caught up in it. There was no undoing that statement. All he could do now was try to maintain a calm, casual and definitely not suspicious composure and silently beg Ashera to let that be enough for the sake of Kilvas. 

“You're trying to protect Reyson, Leanne, Rafiel, and their father, King Lorazieh. Isn't that so? As long as they're on our side, you won't betray us.” From the information he had, that conclusion made sense. 

Naesala wished he was right. 

 

Seeing the hawk army halted, Naesala stopped the ravens as well. Tibarn was flying over. He’d been expecting this any second now. 

“What’s going on?” he asked as though he didn’t know. 

“I’m not sure how this happened, but Janaff is certain we have the central army itself ahead, not its supply unit,” Tibarn explained. 

“Oh. Well… can he tell where the supply unit actually is?” 

“Not from here. We could send some scouts searching, but that’s time the rest of us spend hovering here while our enemies keep moving forward. Since we’re here, I say we just fly in, get any archers and mages out of our way, and then rip their sails. Our job is to slow them down, right? That should do it.” 

“That's a bold change of plan.” Predictable from him though, really. 

“Hey, they may be Begnion’s central army, but they're in our element on the sea. With the hawks and ravens fighting together, we can handle them. We’ll probably even have strength to spare on some of the other soldiers before we go.” If Naesala hadn’t known the things he did and had needed persuading to go along with this, Tibarn’s confidence surely would have done it. “What do you say?” 

_I say you just want to fight that general,_ Naesala thought with a smirk, but resisted the urge to say it. Tibarn would appreciate such a comment too much. “I think we should also target the sailors if possible,” he advised instead. “They’ll be dysfunctional without them.” As long as Tibarn took the bait, there was nothing technically stopping Naesala from trying to help him do it well. 

“You're with me then!” he rejoiced, and oh, there was a hand on Naesala’s shoulder. He was too stunned to shake it off, torn between the warmth on the surface and the chill on the inside. He couldn't look Tibarn in the eye. “You’re sure you’re not nervous?” 

“No, I just wasn't expecting… um…” 

He took a lift of the shoulder as a cue to let go and back up a bit. “Oh. Sorry, I just got excited and…” Wonderful--now it was awkward. Tibarn gave up on that sentence. “Well, that was a good idea. Any other thoughts?” 

“That's all.” 

“Alright then. Let's tell everyone the new plan.” 

 

Naesala had his sight set on an archer aiming in the opposite direction he was swooping down from--an easy target, if not for the wind mage who tried to catch him in a spell on the way. He saw it coming in time to avoid the gust’s damage and only be thrown out of balance. He was able to land smoothly enough on the ship and regain it. 

Of course, that meant there was a window where a beorc with a close range weapon would actually have a chance at hitting him. One with a sword certainly tried to take advantage of it. A well timed shove with a wing threw him stumbling into the railing. 

Then he glimpsed another blade flashing from the other side and made a hasty mix of a step and a glide to dodge it, hoping he was fast enough. 

The slash never finished, and Naesala heard the soldier cry out as hawk talons dug into his sword arm and used it to throw him to floor. 

They made the briefest eye contact, and then they were soaring back up in different directions. 

Tibarn had just flown to his rescue. 

Naesala determinedly pushed away the gratitude and pain that would surely follow by focusing on the battle. Right now, while he was allowed to fight in it for the sake of the deception, he was going to take down as many Begnions as he could. To keep his mind off everything else, he kept count. 

 

They landed in one of those little boxes over the sails the beorc used as lookout points. None ever dared to be in them during a battle against birds, as it would make one stand out as a target. Tibarn had prodded Naesala and led him here with something to say that was evidently of higher importance than his one-on-one with the general, who was still standing and appeared mostly undamaged.

“He said to return home if I cherish the lives of my people.” 

Oh, here it came. Naesala had never heard him sound that quiet or shaken before. It was almost like a voice that didn’t belong to him. Suddenly this space felt _far_ too small. He shifted back a little against the railing. His wings were over the edge, and his hands were resting on it. 

“I’d suspect it was a bluff, but he’s not the type. I could tell he likes a good fight. Also, they weren’t even supposed to be here in the first place. It’s like... they knew our plan.” 

He watched Tibarn’s eyes narrow in suspicion as he put the pieces together, perhaps seeing the signs in their earlier conversation now. Naesala let his face confess in a flinch. He was exhausted of lying, and there was no point anymore.

“How could you?! You’d betray your fellow Laguz to these humans, the ones who burned down Serenes, who captured and enslaved our kind?!” Naesala wouldn’t be surprised if every bird and beorc on or around the ship heard him roaring to some degree. 

He gripped the rail harder, feeling unsteady between the power of his fury and the churning of the waves. 

“What’s happening to Phoenicis?” Tibarn demanded, quieter now, yet even more chilling. 

Naesala couldn’t bring himself to answer that question. Tibarn made a move forward, and he sprang into flight before he could be trapped. “Ravens, time to leave!” Having surely heard the signs of things breaking down, it appeared his soldiers were already mostly disengaged from the Begnions and ready to take off at command. 

“You’re not going anywhere!” Tibarn launched into the air after him. 

“You don’t have time to catch me!” Naesala called as he sped away, the other ravens gathering around him, hoping he’d be smart enough to realize that even in his rage. 

“You can’t run forever, coward! I _will_ make you pay for this!” Tibarn bellowed from a distance.

**Author's Note:**

> I slightly edited one line of canon dialogue because "Our tribes were like brothers" was... bugging me. I really don't know why our beorc patriarchal nonsense had to get projected onto the hawks, and I don't like it. 
> 
> Fun little thing--I did look up what the lookout box thing is called, even though I didn't end up using the term because I thought it made sense for them to not know all the beorc ship jargon. But it's called a crow's nest, heheheh. Really. According to Wikipedia they weren't established until 18-something, which is kind of passed medieval time, but, Nasir's ship has one, so... well, none of you are going to worry about this half as much as I did, are you?


End file.
